Divided Senate kills iSTARS teacher pay plan
The Senate debated long and hard, right through the lunch hour, on SB 1436, the remaining version of the much-modified “iSTARS” teacher merit pay plan, before killing it on a close, 16-19 vote. You can read my full story here. Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, said, “I would submit to you that this is the first step – we have to start somewhere. I don’t think anybody here disputes that we aren’t paying our teachers well enough now.” Opponents noted that teachers who don’t qualify for the program’s bonuses – which are for student test scores, taking leadership positions or teaching in hard-to-fill jobs – would get only a 1 percent raise next year, and that the plan comes in $9 million to $10 million over the amount the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has targeted for public school funding next year. Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said passage would mean other cuts in education – including eliminating state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna’s proposed math initiative and no money for Luna’s proposed 1 percent increase in discretionary funding to school districts.
Critics said the plan’s bonuses don’t actually target the best teaching. But Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, said, “We’ve spent dollars over the years and no one seems to be happy with what the program is doing. We can continue to do the same thing, or we can be willing to step out and make some bold changes.” Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, told the Senate, “We have some wonderful teachers, and I’d like to see us reward ‘em better. We also have some that are probably better truck drivers,” and Pearce said the state should “help ‘em move on.” Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, the bill’s sponsor, said, “Pay for performance has been shown to raise student achievement and to lower the number of teachers leaving the profession.” Several senators said they agree that it’s time for merit pay for teachers – but said this wasn’t the bill that accomplished that. Like other states have done, they said, Idaho should involve teachers in building a merit pay plan that they can support.
